PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT Vs. GOPALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner (respondent in this appeal) retired from Government service while working as a Tahsildar on 30.9.2000. He joined the Revenue Establishment as Village Assistant on 17.8.1967. He was promoted as Village Officer on 22.12.1972. Later, he was promoted as Revenue Inspector on 14.7.1978. Thereafter, 10 years grade promotion was granted on 14.7.1988. Again he was granted 25 years grade promotion from 17.8.1992. He retired from service on 30.9.2000. The audit department raised an objection that grant of 25 years grade promotion with effect from 17.8.1992, even after two regular promotions and one grade promotion was not correct and it was ordered to be recovered from the D.C.R.G. Learned single Judge quashed Ext.P9 holding that refixation of pay of an employee not due to his mistake cannot be recovered after his retirement. This is challenged by the Government. According to the Special Government Pleader, 25 years grade promotion granted to the employee was not correct and any illegally paid amount by mistake can be recovered from the employee as made clear in Rule 3C of Part III of the Kerala Service Rules.

(2.) Both sides cited decisions in support of the respective contentions. In one set of decisions like Jayasree v. State of Kerala (2002 (3) KLT 803), S.K. Saha v. Prem W.A.No. 1950 of 2003. Decided on 7th June, 2005. Prakash Agarwal etc. it was held that excess payments made not due to the mistake of the employee during the tenure of service cannot be recovered later after his retirement. Whereas in Shamsudhin v. State of Kerala (2004 (2) KLT 1020) and United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Roy (2005 (2) KLT 63) it was held that if excess payments are made, that can be recovered. Now, we will consider the correctness of Ext.P9. In Ext.P9, it is stated that the petitioner was illegally granted 25 years grade promotion because he was given two cadre promotions and again one grade promotion on 14.7.1988. Therefore, 25 years grade promotion cannot be granted with effect from 17.8.1992. Paragraph 2 of Ext.P9 reads as follows: